Category: National Trust

The group set out at 8.30am on Wednesday 22^nd May to visit Gunby Estate. We left Hucknall Market in heavy rain which sadly remained with us for much of the day. Despite the rain the group set out to make the most of the day.

On arrival at Gunby we were met by a member of staff who scanned membership tickets and briefed the group about the Estate.

The small cafe area was soon popular with the group. Following that interlude there was an artist in residence who was very happy to engage with the group in his gallery. Many of the group then braved the rain to explore the sizeable gardens and second-hand book shop. Some members ventured further over the Estate to explore the ancient church and other features of the area.

Members visited the House with timed tickets during the afternoon session observing the library, the drawing room, the below stairs kitchen and domestic areas and on the upper floor the bedrooms and other family rooms.

In view of the inclement weather the group assembled on the coach a few minutes early and arrived back in Hucknall for 6.00 pm.

The June visit takes us to Tatton Park in Cheshire.

Unusually the group had two visits in April firstly to;  

Kedleston Hall

 We set off for Kedleston Hall on Monday 15th April on a morning which saw some rain and a cold wind blowing. Fortunately, the rainfall reduced to showers over the day although the cold wind never really abated.  The short journey into Derbyshire saw us arrive a Kedleston for 10.30 am.

Coffee or tea was the order of the day for most members on arrival followed by a slow and comprehensive tour of the impressive Hall. The large rooms beautifully decorated ranged from dining rooms, libraries, bedrooms through to kitchens.

A look round the gardens followed for many and a visit to the various shops on the estate. The usual waterside walks were very much curtailed on this visit by the wet ground and cold wind.

A 4.00 pm departure saw us arrive back in Hucknall shortly after 5.00pm.

Snowshill

The second visit in April saw over 70 members visiting the beautiful setting of Snowshill in the Cotswolds. Here the house is much smaller than the usual NT property but was full of over twenty two thousand objects collected by the owner, Charles Wade, around a hundred years ago. A truly fascinating collection. Charles Wade also extended his property out into his lovely gardens with many buildings adorned by beautiful models often hand built by Wade himself. A truly unique collection which included a Cornish fishing village. Using the knowledge from the very keen volunteers on site we learned so much about the venue and its contents.

Some members also found their way into the nearby church and picturesque village of Snowshill.

After last minute refreshments we gathered for the journey back up to Hucknall after a really pleasant day in generally nice weather.

May’s visit sees the group venture towards the east coast of Lincolnshire to visit the Gunby Estate.

We have recruited a considerable number of new members for 2024 including some who are newly joined u3a members.

We have had to make some changes to the 2024 programme of visits and some members have asked if I could again list the venues that we are visiting.

The programme is :

Monday 15th of April – Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire.

Tuesday 23rd of April – Snowshill, Gloucestershire.

Wednesday 22nd  of May – Gunby Estate, Lincolnshire.

Thursday  20th of June – Tatton Park, Cheshire.

Monday  22nd of July – Belton House, Lincolnshire.

Monday 19th of August – Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire.

Wednesday 25th of September – Erdigg, near Wrexham.

Thursday  24th of October –   Nunnington Hall, Yorkshire.

The April visits are fully booked and we have added a smaller 22 seater coach to our usual coach for the visit to Snowshill.

Reports of the April visits will appear in the May Newsletter and on this website.                                                             

Barrie

This year’s programme of visits has proved a little more difficult to arrange due to venues not accepting coaches during the school holidays and Houses being shut on certain days. Anyway we do now have an interesting and varied selection of properties to visit.

The first visit sees the group travel to Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire on Monday 15th of April, leaving Hucknall Market at 9.30 am. The original date in late March not being available because of the school holidays meaning that no coaches were accepted. Bookings can be made preferably by email to barriensaunders@yahoo.co.uk on March 15th. The cost of travel is £11 which includes the drivers tip. Phone bookings from 9.00 am on the same date on 0115 9559842.

The second visit follows shortly afterwards to Snowhill Manor down in the Cotswolds, leaving Hucknall Market at 9.00 am. Cost of travel is £16. Both visits return at 4,00pm from the venues. Please note that no coaches are able to arrive at Snowshill before 11.30 am.

Finally, our August visit will be to Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire where we will have a guided tour of the Abbey and gardens included. Monday 19th of August for this visit.                                                                       

Barrie

The National Trust group start their monthly 2024 visits in April and as usual will conclude with the October visit. The programme is as follows.

Monday 15th of April visit to Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire,

Tuesday 23rd of April visit to Snowshill in the Cotswolds.

Wednesday 22nd of May visit to the Gunby Estate and Gardens in Lincolnshire,

Thursday 20th of June visit to Tatton Park in the North West.

Monday 22nd of July visit to Belton House in Lincolnshire.

Monday 19th of August visit to Speke Hall on Merseyside.

Wednesday 25th of September visit to Erdigg near Wrexham.

Thursday 24th of October visit to Nunnington Hall near York.

Further details concerning each trip will be sent by email nearer the date. For the small number of NT group members who do not have email we will also be sending out a text message.

Sadly, for the group I have been informed by June, the owner of J B Tours, that she is retiring at the end  of August and selling off the coaches so I am presently in the process of finding another local coach company to take over. I know that regulars will also miss our driver Paul who is very well liked by the members. 

Finally, a big thank you to Anne and Steve Lawrence who have helped Sue and myself select the venues and have also done the bookings for the last four visits, something that really helps with the workload for the trips.                                                           

Barrie and Sue